Break-Even Price Calculator
Find the price at which a position has recovered every cost of opening it, for a long or a short.
A trade does not begin at zero. It begins behind by the cost of opening it, and the break-even price calculator on this page finds the level it has to climb back to — the cost-adjusted break-even for a long or a short, rather than the bare entry price.
Formula: break-even = entry +/- (costs / units + spread and slippage)
Your figures
In units of the instrument.
Commission, fees, swap or funding — as a positive amount.
In price units, added on top of the cash costs. The default is a round illustration alongside the cash costs above, so the panel reproduces the worked example — take yours from a live quote.
Results
Break-even price
US$100.70
0.700000 above entry
- Distance from entry
- 0.70000000
- As a percentage of entry
- 0.7000%
- Move from cash costsDivides by position size, so a larger position needs less.
- 0.50000000
- Move from spread and slippageDoes not divide by size — the same distance whatever you trade.
- 0.20000000
- Total costs
- US$25.00
What this means
This long position breaks even at US$100.70 — 0.700% above the entry. The two components behave differently: the 0.500000 from cash costs shrinks as the position grows, because a fixed charge spreads over more units, while the 0.200000 from spread and slippage does not shrink at all.
- Every figure here is broker-specific and must come from your own contract specification or statement. No broker's or venue's figure is preset: where a field opens with a number it is a round illustration to overwrite, because commission, spreads and rates differ by broker, venue, instrument and account tier, and all of them are revised.
- Assumes costs are known at entry. Swap and funding accrue with time, so a position held longer breaks even further away.
- A stop placed inside the break-even price cannot produce a profitable trade even if it is never hit.
Break-even price: US$100.70
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Continue with these figures
About the Break-Even Price calculation
The figure is more useful than it first appears, because it is the honest floor for any target. A profit target set inside the break-even point on a stock, a future or a currency pair is not a small win — it is a loss with extra steps. On short-term trades, and on small positions where fixed costs bite, that happens more often than most traders check.
As a break-even calculator for trading it separates the two things that move break-even away from your entry, because they behave in opposite ways as position size changes.
Break-Even Price formula
move from cash costs = total costs ÷ (units × FX)
move from drag = spread + slippage
break-even move = move from cash costs + move from drag
long break-even = entry + break-even move
short break-even = entry − break-even move- total costs
- Commission, fees and any carry, as a positive cash amount.
- price drag
- Spread and slippage, already measured in price units.
The two terms behave in opposite directions as size changes, and seeing them separately is the point of the page. Cash costs divide by the position size, so a larger position spreads a fixed commission across more units and needs a smaller move. Price drag does not divide at all — the spread is the same distance whatever the size — so it sets a floor no amount of scaling can lower.
The direction flips the sign but nothing else. A short is profitable as price falls, so its break-even sits below the entry by exactly the same distance a long's sits above it.
Carry belongs in the cash cost term when a position is held overnight. Swap, funding and borrow accrue with time, so a position held longer breaks even further from entry — the level is not fixed once the trade is open.
Break-Even Price: a worked example
A long of 50 units at 100.00 with $25 of total costs and 0.20 of combined spread and slippage.
- Move from cash costs25 ÷ 50 = 0.50
- Move from drag0.20
- Break-even move0.70
- Break-even price100.00 + 0.70 = 100.70
- As a percentage0.70%
- The same trade, short100.00 − 0.70 = 99.30
The position is level at 100.70. A target at 100.50 would close in profit on the price alone and still lose money once costs are counted.
How to use the Break-Even Price calculator
- Enter the total cash costs as a positive figure — commission, fees, and any swap or funding expected over the holding period. That is what makes the result a break-even after commission rather than a restatement of your entry price.
- Enter spread and slippage separately in the drag field, since they do not divide by position size.
- Set the direction. A short's break-even sits below the entry, not above.
- Compare the result against your intended target. A target inside break-even cannot produce a profit.
- For a position held overnight, add the expected carry to the costs — break-even moves further away each day.
Limitations of the Break-Even Price calculator
Every calculation makes assumptions. These are the ones that matter here.
- Assumes costs are known at entry. Swap, funding and borrow accrue, so the break-even price drifts while a position is open.
- Excludes any transaction tax charged on the value of the trade, which some jurisdictions apply on top.
- Assumes a single entry at one price. Averaging into a position changes the effective entry — the average price calculators handle that case.
- Does not account for partial closes, where costs are split unevenly across tranches.
Frequently asked questions about Break-Even Price
Why does a larger position break even closer to entry?
Because fixed cash costs spread across more units. A $25 commission over 50 units needs 0.50 of movement; over 500 units it needs 0.05. The spread component does not improve at all, though, so the benefit has a floor.
Should carry be included?
Yes for anything held overnight. Swap, funding and borrow accumulate daily, so a position held a week breaks even meaningfully further from entry than the same position held for an hour. Add the expected total for your holding period.
Is break-even the same as a break-even stop?
No, and conflating them is a common and expensive error. Moving a stop to your entry price still leaves you closing at a loss, because costs were never recovered. A genuine break-even stop belongs at the price this calculator returns.
How does this differ from the break-even win rate calculator?
This gives a price — the level one trade must reach to be level. The break-even win rate gives a proportion — how many trades at a given reward-to-risk ratio must win for the strategy to be level over time. Different questions, both worth answering.
Last reviewed . See our methodology and editorial policy.
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